Florida Financial Advisors LLC Has $229,000 Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Florida Financial Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 8.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,353 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 322 shares during the quarter. Florida Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $229,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith during the third quarter worth approximately $43,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $55,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter valued at $60,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter valued at $82,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its position in A. O. Smith by 40.0% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,299 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 371 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on AOS. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com raised A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $80.86.

A. O. Smith Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of AOS opened at $66.76 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.55. A. O. Smith Co. has a 52-week low of $64.55 and a 52-week high of $92.45. The firm has a market cap of $9.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.39, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18. The business’s fifty day moving average is $67.58 and its 200-day moving average is $73.16.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.05). A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 28.87%. Equities analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.47%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $27,507.35. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $180,471.85. The trade was a 13.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $67,356.90. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 8,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $583,562.85. This trade represents a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

About A. O. Smith

A. O. Smith Corporation manufactures and markets residential and commercial gas and electric water heaters, boilers, heat pumps, tanks, and water treatment products in North America, China, Europe, and India. The company offers water heaters for residences, restaurants, hotels, office buildings, laundries, car washes, and small businesses; boilers for hospitals, schools, hotels, and other large commercial buildings, as well as homes, apartments, and condominiums; and water treatment products comprising point-of-entry water softeners, well water solutions, and whole-home water filtration products, and point-of-use carbon and reverse osmosis products for residences, restaurants, hotels, and offices.